[World Building June 2017: Luxson Cluster] Day 1: Introduction
[Day 1 Prompt] 🌐 [Full Prompt List]
Morbit is an earthlike planet where you will find sugarwater oceans, horrifying monsters lurking in its core, ageless deities roaming the far corners of the world, thousands of sapient species living together in discord and harmony, and scraps of the souls of the dead lingering in the mortal plane long after their bodies are gone.
Life in Morbit is abundant, diverse, and very fragile. A zone might thrive for thousands of years, or it could collapse in a generation due to misfortune or divine neglect.
Every continent and zone in Morbit is ruled by the gods, whether mortals recognize it or not. Primordial deities, the high gods, shaped the land and spawned hundreds of pantheons of greater and lesser gods who brought yet more life into the world and guide and guard their territories as best they can.
A zone without its deities will decay into wasteland with ruthless speed. Thankfully, the islands we’ll be focusing on this month still have plenty of them to go around.
The Luxson Cluster is a group of three islands in the southeast of Morbit: Luxson, in the north; Fallow’s Island in the southeast; and Monte in the southwest. The Luxson Cluster is also the setting of the upcoming video game [ Sleepwalker ].
Each island is guided by its own deities with their own differing philosophies on how best to pursue the growth and management of their territories, but all of the islands depend on one another for survival and have thus, against all odds, generally remained allies with one another throughout history.
In modernity, the Luxson Cluster islands have come to view their gods less as divine beings and more as mere people. Whether they are people of unusual longevity, dynasties fulfilling an ancestral role, or simply cryptids haunting dark streets, it will depend on who you ask.
[World Building June 2017: Luxson Cluster] Day 5: Civilization & Architecture
[Day 5 Prompt] 🌐 [Full Prompt List]
The islands of the Luxson cluster are home to a set of widely variant and unique cultures, and therefore architectures. From the sprawling, zone-wide cities of Luxson, with its twenty-one districts and open-air markets. To the neon-lit casinos of Monte, where narrows streets and a rigid caste system rule supreme. Or even the overgrown ruins and temples of Fallow’s Island, where you can hear the whispers of the gods.
The following sections will go in depth on the unique aspects of architectures of the Luxson cluster. And how the cultures of each zone uniquely affect or are affected by it.
▶ Luxson
Luxson is, essentially, a giant city stretching from coast to coast, divided into 21 districts. Each district has its own particular subculture and function, but each is considered a part of a larger whole.
Contemporary Luxson is a winding labyrinth of wide cobblestone streets and towering buildings in a patchwork of recycled pastel plaster and neon signs. Throughout most of the West, and slowly spreading to the east, is a complex system of piping, meant to carry sound from place to place, or to XXI himself.
A common sight in Luxson is the presence of sprawling, low to the ground open air markets (See illustration). Where people of all sorts come to offer their skills and to see what others have to offer as well. Stalls covered in heavy, brightly colored cloth stretch far and wide, bustling and noisy, these markets are a centerpiece of Luxsonian architecture and style
Most housing in Luxson takes the form of standardized apartments or otherwise joined housing. Mobile homes, RVs, and trailers are a common sight around the coast and have recently been increasing in popularity throughout the landlocked districts. Most people live in these sorts of joined or portable homes. Rarely will a single family or person own or rent an entire building by themselves unless they are extremely wealthy, or live in the coastal district.
Another facet of Luxson is its bathhouses, public locations for people to bathe and keep clean. Bath-houses have been especially popular in the more crowded or populous districts, as most apartments are too small to provide a full shower or tub.
After the terror plague was contained, more consideration was put into protecting the populace from future horror and terror attacks. For the most part, this is accomplished by reinforcing new buildings and constructing mass evacuation centers. As well as keeping the population prepared for attacks with emergency drill scenarios. Every day, another novel method for counteracting terror and horror attacks; underground bunkers were briefly proposed but shot down due to a blatant and fatal flaw in the concept.
▶ Monte
The territories of Monte are ever-shifting, constantly fighting against their neighbors for whatever bit of territory they can take.
The cities of Monte (see illustration) are extremely dense crystalline monstrosities, abundant in enormous neon signs whose light distorts and flashes off of the buildings around them. Advertising the clubs, casinos and oxygen bars, all for the sake of driving the competitive and destructive nature of the De’moneres’ culture.
The most extravagant architecture is found in the Diamonds’ district, where the most wealthy pool their fortune to build ever-taller monuments to their own power and influence. These monoliths stand among the mountain homes of the most influential families of the island, looming over the lower castes and the less wealthy.
Hearts’ cities are unusually plain, given the status of those that live there. Often found on the surface levels of the deep mines, mostly managers. For those who live in Hearts cities, pollution from the mine-work below is an over-arching threat. The status of those who live in Hearts cities come from their comparative safety when compared to the viciousness of the rest of Monte, their role in policing Spades mining workers, and the fact that most of the weapons trade is central to their district
The largest cities in the Clubs’ district are found on waterfront property, either at sea or on the largest rivers. There, crystal, bone, and wood are fashioned into buildings distinctly inspired by those on Fallow’s island. Whereas most cities in Monte are distinguished by their glitz and fluorescent, bright flashing strobe lights. Clubs cities are much more sedated. Many of the cities in this unique district are covered in dense moss and air plants with vertical gardens of plants from Fallow’s island.
Spades cities are compact walls of noise and people, densely packed like sardine cans, full to capacity and then twice over. Most spades cities are centered around old mines, be it active or abandoned. The lowest of their society live the deepest down in the mines, where horror attacks and cave-ins are constant threats. While the upper levels do not have the threat of death by Horror, crime is a significant issue due to a lack of any care given by the other castes.
The Joker Cities are filled with a wide variety of people, either those exiled there because of varying views or forced out from their homes because they simply made the wrong person angry. The structure of these cities is mostly based on old run down Spades mining towns, while towns in the Jokers’ district are somewhat better off than those of the Spades, Jokers’ are often neglected and ignored as an undesirable sort of people. Because of this fact, a few anti-caste groups have formed in the far reaches of Joker territory/ While many of these act in the form of peaceful (for De’moneres) protest, there have been a small number of these groups who have begun to resort to more violent activities, such as public attacks.
Monte is famous for its casinos and shred farms. Casinos are run by the mob, who rinse you for your money, steal your organs and leave you at the Oxy bar. Shred farms are a structure originating in Monte, which take advantage of naturally occurring shred-conductive crystals. These crystals are on the large scale to make power-plant transformers, and on the small scale to make things like batteries.
▶ Fallow’s Island
Fallow’s island is the most undeveloped island of the cluster, with much of its land being wilderness, ruins or rural farmland. Most of the development on Fallow’s island is located the western coasts, where spacious port towns have been slowly established over time. However, none of the cities of Fallow’s island come close to the density or height of those found in Luxson or Monte. The architecture of Fallow’s is distinguished by flowing, organic shape and working with nature, homes built alongside trees, or utilizing natural terrain for one or more supporting structures are common.
Overgrown ruins (see illustration) can be found dotted throughout the island, particularly the hexagon-based constructions that the Comber left behind during their migration to the West. Among these ruins are many temples and shrines dedicated to Fallow. The largest and oldest of these temples and buildings are based on cavities or areas of Fallow’s body that are directly exposed to the air. With complex drainage systems to prevent flooding.
Most of the buildings on Fallow’s Island are constructed out of stone, living wood, bone, and even cloth. Some regions utilize massive trees that abundant in the area and build their towns among the branches. Walkways and pathways interlacing and interlocking from lower ground to the higher branches. The Multi-leveled towns of the forests of Fallow’s Island are a sight to behold. On the other side of the spectrum, small houses that fit a single family, or natural house-complexes are common. The buildings of Fallow’s island take a step towards the personal when compared to the cities of Monte and Luxson.
A common feature of constructions is that they are all made flexible, moving in sympathy with the slow rhythm of Fallow’s natural breath and movements. While Fallow tries hard to not cause any harm to those who live upon its head, some movement is inevitable.
